We Used to "Google Ourselves," but Now We Will Want to Know Whether We are in the Weights

It was inevitable: perhaps we used to "Google ourselves." Now, with language models doing the heavy lifting, we want to know whether we are In the Weights. 

The “weights” are the numerical parameters that shape an AI model’s training and output, so the website tries to measure how well “a model includes a subject in its inference operations. 

Here's an example from website In The Weights. 

Management and Leadership are Two Different Things

There is a difference between "leadership" and "management." Most of us work for managers, most of the time. What we often want are leaders, even if some elements of both arguably are needed some of the time. 

Leadership might be said to be about influencing people, while management  might be said to be about control and creating predictable results.

source: Researchgate

Not all managers exercise leadership. Sometimes they don't have to do so. A manager possesses formal authority over resources, budgets, schedules, or people, but not every situation calls for exercise of leadership skills. 

Role	Why Management Matters More Than Leadership	Why Leadership Is Less Critical
Payroll manager	Accuracy, compliance, deadlines, controls	Processes are highly standardized
Accounts payable supervisor	Transaction processing and auditability	Little need to create organizational change
Air traffic control shift supervisor	Strict adherence to procedures	Innovation can be undesirable during operations
Nuclear power plant operations manager	Safety and process discipline dominate	Consistency outweighs vision
Warehouse scheduling manager	Resource allocation and throughput optimization	Employees typically follow established procedures
Regulatory compliance manager	Monitoring, reporting, and enforcement	Persuasion plays a smaller role than compliance
Manufacturing line supervisor	Quality, efficiency, staffing	Limited need for strategic transformation

Conversely, not all leaders manage. A leader possesses influence, whether or not formal authority exists. The examples include leadership in a combat situation.

Role	Leadership Characteristics	Management Authority
Scientific thought leader	Shapes research agenda through expertise	Often has no line authority
Distinguished engineer	Influences technical direction through credibility	May manage no employees
Open-source software creator	Mobilizes contributors around a vision	Usually lacks formal authority
Social movement organizer	Creates commitment and purpose	Few formal management responsibilities
University professor	Influences students and colleagues	Typically manages little organizational infrastructure
Industry analyst	Influences strategic decisions across firms	No direct authority over followers
Religious leader of a voluntary group	Influence depends largely on trust and shared values	Limited formal managerial control

One classic formulation is that managers do things right; leaders do the right things. 

The terms “leader” and “manager,” like the terms “leadership” and “management,” often are used interchangeably, and probably should not be, as they are very different things.

Dimension	Management	Leadership
Primary Purpose	Create order, consistency, and predictability	Create change, adaptation, and movement
Core Question	"How do we execute efficiently?"	"Where should we go next?"
Focus	Processes, systems, resources	People, purpose, direction
Time Horizon	Short- to medium-term	Long-term
Key Activities	Planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling	Vision-setting, aligning, motivating, inspiring
Relationship to Change	Minimizes unnecessary variation	Initiates and guides change
Source of Authority	Formal position and organizational role	Influence, credibility, and followership
Success Measure	Efficiency, reliability, consistency	Commitment, adaptation, transformation
View of Risk	Reduce and manage risk	Accept calculated risk for future gains
Communication Style	Instructions, coordination, monitoring	Inspiration, persuasion, meaning-making
Primary Resource Managed	Tasks, budgets, schedules, assets	Human energy, attention, commitment
Organizational Outcome	Stability and operational effectiveness	Renewal and strategic effectiveness

The classic example is combat leadership in a small team and bureaucratic management of the whole army, navy or air force. In combat, leadership is not so much exercised by the leader as assented to by the followers. In other words, you might say leaders are made by their followers. 

Managers and executives, on the other hand, never are really made by their followers. They hold positions or offices that confer authority. Bureaucratic authority, the holding of an office, is not the same thing as leadership. 

With the caveat that the balance could well be different in a fast-moving Internet business compared to a factory, a classic statement might be that “the manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate. The leader’s job is to inspire and motivate.”

The degree of predictability and time frames often dictate when management is key and when leadership is more important. Highly-predictable scenarios do not require leadership. 

On the other hand, any institution that expects to last over multiple human lifetimes is going to rely on management rather than leadership, for the most part, as it is necessary to create stable structures over long periods of time.

Vocalist David Clayton-Thomas

 

Known for his work as front man for Blood Sweat and Tears. The band won two Grammys for the album “Blood, Sweat & Tears,” which beat out the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” for best album of 1969.

Rest in peace.

Water is an Issue, But Not Because of Data Centers or AI

The near-hysteria about water consumption needs to be kept in proper perspective. In the water-short American West, including the Colorado River watershed, water is always an issue. 

In terms of water access, the United States is effectively divided by the historic 100th meridian, which runs roughly through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. East of that line, rainfall is generally sufficient to support agriculture without irrigation. West of it, irrigation is necessary.

Region	Typical Annual Precipitation
Pacific Northwest mountains	60–150+ inches
Eastern U.S. (most areas)	30–60 inches
Midwest	25–45 inches
Great Plains	15–35 inches
Intermountain West (Nevada, Utah, Wyoming interior, western Colorado)	5–20 inches
Desert Southwest	3–15 inches

But precipitation alone does not illustrate the issue as well as water runoff, which is the amount of liquid that remains available for use after evaporation and plant transpiration. In much of the Intermountain West and Great Plains, most precipitation evaporates or is consumed by vegetation before reaching streams.

Region	Typical Annual Runoff
Appalachian region	15–40+ inches
Upper Midwest	5–15 inches
Great Plains	0.5–5 inches
Intermountain West basins	Less than 1–3 inches
Desert Southwest	Often less than 0.5 inch

Relative to demand, west of the 100th meridian, water is always going to be an issue. 

Region	Water Supply Relative to Demand
Northeast	Large surplus
Southeast	Large surplus
Great Lakes	Very large surplus
High Plains	Small surplus
Southwest	Deficit
Colorado River Basin	Deficit

So it might be inevitable that water footprint becomes an issue for data centers, even if relative water consumption is quite low. Of course, a total water footprint would include the cost of generating electricity. 

Still, industry uses relatively little water, compared to other sectors of the economy. 

source: Axios 

But an argument can be made that the easiest gains might come from increasing agriculture efficiency where it comes to water consumption. 

And even if controversial, the easiest market encouragement might include shifting our subsidies for agricultural water pricing, as difficult as that will be for many farmers always on the brink of survival. 

As always, rights and values are in tension. Most people might say they believe in supporting family farms, just as much as they might say they value water conservation. But the numbers are clear. Small gains in agriculture will produce more efficiency, faster, than small gains in consumption in other sectors. 

Sector	Share of Water Consumption (Typical Western Basin)
Agriculture	70–80%
Municipal	10–20%
Industry	5–10%

Indeed, water pricing discourages efficiency because the users of 70 percent to 80 percent of the water pay the lowest prices for consumption. Again, values are in conflict. We might value food production and small farms as much as we value drinking water and electricity. 

But there is an order of magnitude difference between agricultural water prices and all urban uses of water. And as with all commodities and goods, low prices encourage consumption; higher prices encourage efficiency. 

Tradable water rights might be a preferred solution, shifting supply towards demand without expropriating or destroying farming. Also, it might make sense to encourage water-intensive agriculture only in regions with lots of water, while discouraging it in regions that are water scarce. 

Again, this will be controversial. 

User Type	Typical Economic Value of Water
Alfalfa irrigation	$50–$300 per acre-foot
Corn irrigation	$100–$500 per acre-foot
Municipal supply	$1,000–$5,000+ per acre-foot
Industrial/high-value uses	Often much higher

In other words, does it make good sense to grow water-intensive rice, almonds or alfalfa in water-scarce regions?

Crop	Acre-Feet per Acre
Wheat	1–2
Corn	2–3
Alfalfa	3–6
Almonds	3–4
Rice	4–5

As if that were not complicated enough, we also must balance protection of wetlands, fisheries, recreation and food sourcing. 

Data center water consumption might be an issue, but a relatively small one, overall. How we use and price use of a scarce resource is really the bigger issue.